The polls of the last fewer months confirmed that Polish youth, and especially their male part, have a strong right-wing sympathies, which different from his Western peers. As early as 2023, the Confederate received 3 times as many votes in the 18–29 age bracket as among the general electorate, and in the presidential election Sławomir Mentzen only had this tendency to strengthen.
Some public opinion polling gave the candidate the far right support even half of the young people determined to vote on 18 May. This was at the tallness of Mentzen's run success erstwhile a much better consequence was predicted for him than it is now, after respective political blunders and not very successful speeches in debates. However, he besides suffered from attacks from the another end of the political scene.
Two anti-systemisms
From the beginning of the campaign, Adrian Zandberg regularly hit the Confederate leader and challenged him for debates 1 out of 1 (Mentzen did not accept the invitation). It may seem pointless due to the fact that it was hard to imagine flows between the left and the far right electorates. However, both candidates combine the sentiments of young voters with criticism of the establishment and the presence against parties for many years on the changes of the ruling Poland, which have been exchanged at the “corretion” for the last 20 years. He shares everything else.
Mentzen manages the voice of protest and discontent, adding xenophobic demagogues to this – COPIS is to be jointly liable for flooding Poland with immigrants, giving privileges to Ukrainians and bringing Muslims to take jobs from hard-working Poles. It is simply a communicative well known from Western countries, where the far right spreads conspiracy theories about a “great substitution”, says about the attack “ideology woke” etc. In Poland, it hit susceptible ground despite a loose relation with reality.
On the another hand, there are besides accusations of authorities, but another type: Zandberg accuses them of starving the wellness care system, taking action against workers and deepening the housing crisis. president Together frequently thunders about politicians sitting in the pocket of developers and writing bill on the order of their sponsors. Young people so face an option that is as anti-government as the Confederate, but does not claim that paid studies and privileges for the rich will be in their interest if immigration is stopped. This makes any people who have so far leaned towards Mentzen open to the demands of the organization Together.
I vote for Adrian, for...
Just as crucial as the program is an unconventional way of conveying it. In the ongoing run left-wing candidate No problem.. Although the exclamation of populist slogans by the Warsaw intelligent individual could easy be perceived as unauthentic or even making the voters of idiots, Zandberg avoids this trap – he says simply but not simply. This is even highlighted by the right-wing media, where a affirmative assessment of the leader's run Together is explained by its substance and precedence of strategical issues for the future of Poland. How admits Roch Zygmunt writing for the Jagiellonian Club, "no longer in a fair way to show that the organization together deals with only pronouns".
Also, Zandberg's well-known rhetorical performance cannot be overlooked. Politician Together has always been good at debates – wins most verbal battles with counter-candidates (leaded with "the cleaning of Mentzen's floor", quoting tweet with more than a million views), clinging to its basic postulates: housing, atom, end of trough, housing, more spending on wellness care... Did I mention apartments?
This time, squad Team besides worked smoothly, flooding organization socials with awesome photograph shoots and ingenious materials from electoral posters Inspired by sanatorium propaganda (the 15-year plan) after meditation sessions With Zandberg's voice. On the organization YouTube channel you can besides find summary of the week performed by the presidential candidate and stream, in which trying his hand in popular computer games.
This has been done with the bottom-up support of organization sympathizers Together who have created memes with a "powerful Dane" – a fewer meters giant waiting for developers, Confederates and holding in the hand (literally) counter-candidates. In fresh weeks I think only “imperator” Senyshyn could compete with Zandberg in terms of virality, but she lacked a comparable musical setting. The best show of net creativity is simply a series of songs, headed by the song Lumberman President, i.e. rework Freed From Desire Gali Rizatto. In the rhythm of the hit from the turn of the century, the announcements are that "the blibs are waiting for the plows, the elites are afraid" and after Adrian's triumph (for...) there will be "industry and electricity (...) healthy Poland and housing".
Internet activity of supporters Together is so large that before a fewer days Anna-Maria Żukowska accused Zandberg of buying a bot package, to the delight of the most actual twitter keyboard fighters, tormenting the accounts of politicians of another parties memes with Zandberg. This form of political activity can be ridiculed, but polls propose that it shows changes in the actual electoral support, especially among young people.
Confederate POPIS of the future?
It is not accidental for Zandberg and Mentzen at their rallies to gather crowds of an exceptionally low average age. According to CBOS polls, they should collect a full of more than half the votes of the youngest – early April study It gave 44 percent to Mentzen and twice as much to the president Together. A small Later Research Partner poll reduced this advantage (34 to 22%) and already in May Intel Atlas granted Zandberg a minimum lead over the Confederate leader (25 to 23%), with the remaining candidates far behind. Each poll has different proportions, but the common component remains the duo at the head.
It is impossible to escape the association with akin duality in older generations, only in the performance of PO and PiS. So, in a sense, we see the reproduction of well-known political polarization in the next election cohorts, but among young people, the ideological spread is much deeper. The votes will be given not to parties from the same right-wing environment, but to groups with diametrically different visions of Poland.
The slogan “PiS, PO – 1 evil” falls on susceptible ground in young people tired of duopoly, whose origins go further than her memory. It was raised for a long time by the Confederate, and in the ongoing campaign, Together chose a akin narrative. In this way, it tries to scope people who, in the presidential election for the first time, have no established political loyalty, but want to vote against the "establishment".
This can be put on the backdrop of the “natural” radicalism of young people and claim that in a fewer years the current 20-year-olds will control to the COPIS website. partially likely, but it would be a mistake to overly disregard young people’s sympathy. Over the years, the far right has been ridiculed due to the support of "gimbaza" and teenagers, and now thanks to the voices of the twenty- and thirty-year-olds is preparing to take 3rd position in the presidential race.
Perhaps the stakes are not only Left microtorqueBut besides reverse this trend? Engagement of voters disappointed in Polish politics and/or never to vote? In the event of attracting young people even modestly on the scale of the full electorate, support would have a chance to win in the future, although it is worth remembering that in an ageing society the voice of each next generation will be weaker. Therefore, Zandberg's possible good consequence among the youngest voters should be accepted with average optimism – not only by supporters of the Together Party, but all waiting for a progressive consequence to the Confederacy's popularity increase.
